2 Mar 2016

After Tuesday's round of Premier League matches, Liverpool have slipped down to 11th place in the table, and with Manchester City to come on Wednesday, things may be about to get worse for Jurgen Klopp's underachieving team.

A few facts ahead of the game:

* It's March, and the Reds have amassed a pitiful 38 points point for the season.

* At this point last year, Liverpool were 5th in the table on 48 points, and went on to win another 14 points before the end of the season, which left the club on 62 points for the season.

* If Liverpool achieve the same under Klopp, the Reds will finish on 52 points this year, which will equal the club's worst ever Premier League points total (2011-12 under Kenny Dalglish).

* When Guus Hiddink took over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were 15th in the league, 6 points behind Liverpool. Just over two months later, Chelsea are unbeaten under Hiddink, and are now ahead of LFC in the league.

This is a pitiful state of affairs, and as I've argued several times, Klopp has failed Liverpool in the league, and it's not good enough. If Hiddink can take Chelsea on a great run, why can't Klopp do the same at Anfield?

Hiddink also took over someone else's (massively demotivated) squad, yet it didn't affect his ability to improve on the manager who came before him.

Liverpool have massively regressed under Klopp in the league, and I can only see that continuing against Man City tomorrow. My preferred lineup:

* Liverpool have nothing to play for in the league, so after a strenuous 120-minute game on Sunday (which lead to injuries for Lucas and Sakho), why not just use some well-rested Academy players?

* Mignolet made yet another costly mistake against Man City; surely it's time to give someone else a chance?

* Sturridge surely can't play after playing 120 minutes on Sunday. After the game, Klopp claimed 'amazing' Sturridge 'couldn't walk', so starting him three days later is (arguably) irresponsible. Firmino could also do with a rest.

None of this will haappen, though. Klopp will stubbornly persist with the usual underperforming and/or error-prone suspects (Lallana, Can, Moreno etc), and Liverpool will slip further into mid-table mediocrity.